


Tourniquet for the Damned

by TheBookwormAuthor



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anger, Death, Depression, Family Relationship - Freeform, Fandomless OC, Gen, Multiple Suicides, OC, Suicide, Terror Beast, demon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 09:58:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7710712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBookwormAuthor/pseuds/TheBookwormAuthor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wanted to die, was that so hard to ask for? No matter how hard he would stab himself, or how he swallowed pills that shouldn't be swallowed in such copious amounts. His body just wouldn't let him die. To make matters worse, he was remembering just how this curse came to be. God, why did he have to loathe this body so much? Maybe he really did deserve this punishment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tourniquet for the Damned

_Blip... Blip... Blip..._

  
The sound of leaking droplets was all one could hear in the bathroom on this storm-filled day in Vancouver. Not a light on in the apartment, not a sound from its sole inhabitant.

  
Well, if you considered the heavy panting to not be a noise, that is. To look inside the one room that someone probably should never go if you were to meet this person, would be a disastrous thing to do.

  
For inside, in the bathtub where the occupant was, the liquid known as water seemed to be tinged with red. To the innocent mind, they would assume the coloring was because of a soap, or something for hair. But to the far less innocent- the ones that would look to the being’s body -they would find a knife embedded deep into the male’s body.

  
It was a fancy looking knife, one that was well cared for and treated nicely. Always cleaned up too. A shame that it was used on such a disgusting display. The intent to die was clear, since the object had been put in his abdomen right to the hilt. But there was something odd about this.

  
Why was he still breathing? Surely, he had stabbed himself long enough ago to have died; if the tinge of blood in the water was evidence of that.

  
Seconds ticked by before the knife was forced out of that body, not because of hands that could have grabbed it. It was because his body itself pushed the knife out. And it was his body alone that repaired what he had done to himself.

That was when you would be able to hear more droplets falling into the tub. Not from the faucet itself; but from two oddly colored eyes. The panting that was once heard was now becoming what sounded like a tremble. A sob was next. And then the water below was met with several tears as the weapon floated to the bottom, seemingly forgotten for now.

  
Hands that were once still now reached up to rub away the salty liquid as his body was racked with sob after sob.

  
“Why... Why can’t I just die..? Is that so much to ask of this body?”

  
Soon, the tears stopped flowing and his cries ceased, bringing a sense of disappointment to the golden-eyed male.

  
In truth, it really was too much to ask of his body to let him die. It was the never-dying carcasses curse, that’s how he thought of the situation. To never let its owner die for very long, and to regenerate and fix whatever injury that had been dealt to it.

  
Although. Some- If they were ever told about this strange occurrence -would ask how this came about to be. How did this adult, blackened hair with his bangs a holy shade of white, come to acquire such a curse. Maybe that story needed to come to light. Though it was probably never going to be voiced by the one that was inflicting such deadly wounds to himself.

That’s why it would just be easier to go into his memories of the things that led up to this curse. It would surely be something many creatures would want to know; but none of them would ever hear about. Because the one person that can talk about it won’t. Only when he’s by himself, does he even allow himself to think about what happened to him. Those are most certainly the times where he wants to die the most but never can.

  
And since he is alone in this very moment, you can see the beginnings of those distant memories coming to mind in his golden colored pupils. With no real fear of dying anymore, he even sank low into the water until everything below his eyes were submerged. And so begins the real tale about this poor demon.

 

~ * ~

 

“Did you see where Zerah ran off to this time, Amal?”

  
“Nope! But maybe he went to go see that one friend of his? They do hang out a lot, after all.”

  
Before any more words could be uttered from the siblings lips, there was someone walking into the little cabin. Four eyes cast their gaze to the closing door, soon discovering that it was their brother, no more than twelve, with his golden eyes shimmering happily.

  
"Oh! Hello, Amalthea, Icarus! You were talking about me?" Came the initial response that left Zerah's lips.

  
The two- one younger and one older -siblings continued to look at their brother for a few more moments, until the male walked over and ruffled the boys black and white hair. Inaudible complaints could be heard from the shorter male as he squirmed to get away from Icarus; but it was evident that that was a failure when Amalthea joined in, going straight to tickling his sides.

  
Laughter was what erupted out of Zerah and his two siblings, one squealing and trying to get away while the others continued their assault on him.

  
But it wasn't long before, collectively, they heard the father of the family reprimanding them from where he was outside. Normally, it didn't matter if the kids were loud or rambunctious like now. The only times it did were when the Terror Beasts were around, or the demons that tended to snitch to them.

  
With that thought in mind, the children grew silent. Zerah chose to walk over to the nearby window, soon peeking out to see what was going on.

The remainder of the siblings that weren't in the cabin seemed to be outside. For whatever reason, it was impossible to tell at first. His father was there, and his mother was just making her way over to the others, since she had been tending to the garden they had. If the dirt stains on her clothes was evidence enough, that is.

  
"Icarus, what are they saying? I can't hear-"

  
"Sh, Zerah."

  
"But I-!"

  
Before any more words could leave his lips, Amalthea was placing her hands over his mouth. A gentle smile was on her own pair, and that was all it seemed was needed to silence the male.

  
With no more disturbances, the children tuned their ears into eavesdropping in what was going on outside.

  
Zerah even noticed that there was a man there that he thought hadn't been there before. Which confused him. Wouldn't he have noticed that? Though, it wasn't often that the demon didn't notice things. After all, he had other things that he was focused on. Like figuring out why there was someone talking to his dad. And why Dad seemed to be so mad at the man.

  
Looking at them with those beautiful gold eyes of his, the Limboidic being seemed to be committing the man's appearance to memory. Hair as black as night, with alluring red eyes, and what the little one believed was soft, feather smooth skin that he wanted to feel for just a moment. But he held himself back, mainly because Amalthea and Icarus were with him.

Prying his lips from his younger sisters hand, he gently tugged on his big brother's sleeve, soon asking, "Who is that with Dad?"

  
"Who? Umm, I'm not really sure, Zerah..."

  
"Whoever he is, he looks cute-!"

  
The words that left their sisters lips seemed to have stunned the boys as they looked at Amalthea. Not really knowing how to respond to what she had said, the boys returned their gaze to the outside. The parent, from what Zerah could remember, looked to be angered- If his lashing tail was any indication.

  
Biting his lip to stay quiet and not ask questions, the trio watched as the oldest male shouted something in a rage at the visitor; and without saying anything more, he began storming his way over to the house.

  
"Ah- Here comes Dad-! We better move before he comes in and sees that we were spying on him." Icarus said, ushering the other two away from the door.

  
Quickly, the children scampered away to do various things around the little house to busy themselves and make it seem like they weren't listening to anything that had happened. While his two siblings had went to find books or make dinner, Zerah had rushed over to one of the knives that had been given to him long ago, taking the weapon out to clean it. And soon, their father walked in, immediately taking notice of Zerah.

  
"Ah! You've come back, finally. I thought we were going to have to go over to Akexej's place to go get you," he teased, scooping up Zerah and swinging him around in the air, causing the boy to laugh and squeal as he dropped the knife.

"Dad, please-! We're going to hit something! You shouldn't be swinging me like this!" This was Zerah's response to everything his dad had said, and never once stopped saying them until he was set down once more.

  
The moment of exuberant laughter soon passed as the father set the young boy back down on his feet, giggling as his hair was ruffled. "That's my boy, Zerah. You'll always be smiling, won't you?"

  
What an odd question. Why would he ask something like that? Though it struck Zerah and the other children as peculiar and strange, they didn't think about it too much as the boy grinned up at his father.

  
"Yes, of course, Dad! I'll always smile, because I'm happy!" He proclaimed, causing his father to laugh under his breath.

  
For the briefest of moments, Zerah could have sworn he saw a glimmer in those eyes. A glimmer that told him that something was wrong. But what could that be? Was he sick? Hopefully not, the child didn't want to have to take care of his father; his mother was already sick, even though she constantly told them to leave her be so she could tend to the garden.

  
Before the child could ask his dad what was wrong, a pair of footsteps came to the door and began storming into the house. It startled the older Icarus and his father, but when Zerah turned to see who it was, he pouted at seeing Ferox and Mare walking into the living room. It wasn't like he disliked his eldest brother, but he was one of the siblings that liked to tease him. That was something he didn't like.

  
"There you two are. Where have you been? I thought Zerah was going to be an adult before you came back!"

"Mare was taking care of some wild animals, and I was fishing. What do you expect? We needed to take our time getting home or else others would have taken our food."

  
The reply Ferox gave seemed to sate the parent, who soon called Icarus to come help take care of the food so they could put it in storage for now. Blinking those lovely golden eyes of his, Zerah made his way to Mare, who had begun to sharpen her arrows. While Mare and Zerah were the same age, you wouldn't have guessed it with how they both acted. She was mentally older, and maybe that was why it always felt like she was able to look down on her brother for not going out to scavenge for the family.

  
"What do you want, Zerah? I'm busy."

  
"Oh, I was just-! Well..." Pouting slightly, the ten year old only watched as the average looking stick in his sisters' hands slowly turned into a pointed weapon. Maybe one day, he could do something like that, and make his siblings proud. "Could you show me how to make arrows too? That way, you don't have to make them all on your own!"

  
This seemed to surprise Mare, who ceased her movements against the wooden weapon in her palms. Even Amalthea, who had been in the kitchen with Gina and the other two, glanced over to Zerah in surprise. It wasn't like him to ask about things like this. So it made the siblings wonder what he was thinking.

  
With a silent nod, there was an obvious excitement to the boy's face that hadn't been there when he was waiting for his sister to respond to his question. Surely he would be able how to do this easily, right?

Though that had been what everyone was thinking, it was obvious some few hours later that making arrows wasn't something he could do. He did his best, at least. And that was what mattered to everyone and himself. While the arrows he made seemed crude in comparison to Mare's, they were able to be used still. And that was good enough for him.

  
"With time, you'll be able to make arrows just as good as me!"

  
Overly happy that his sister had praised him, the young boy had scooped up several of the arrows that he himself had made. A warning for the male began to come out of his elder siblings mouths when it was clear that, for one, Zerah wasn't listening, and for two- Well, the words of caution weren't going to work.

  
Tripping over his own two feet as he was rushing towards his father and mother, who must have come into the house sometime while Mare was showing her brother how to make arrows, there was a clatter from both parents and arrows falling to the ground. It seemed everyone moved towards the boy as one body when the smell of blood filled the air.

  
Not only because the family was worried. But if they didn't conceal the scent quickly, they might appear. And that was something that none were prepared for.

  
"Zerah-! Are you okay? Did you stab your eye?" That was his mother talking, concern leaking out of her entire body as she practically shoved the others aside to scoop up her little boy.

Blood was dripping from his face and staining not only his clothes, but his mothers as the golden eyed boy looked up at her. Thankfully, the arrows had only grazed by his face, so most were just little scratch marks. But there was one that was worrying. The closest wound to his eye seemed to have narrowly missed the orb, and tore passed the socket. It was luck that the deadly end of the arrow hadn't pierced his eyeball and gone into his head. And for that, his mother was happy. Though while she was happy, Zerah was crying because of the pain.

  
"I-It hurts! I didn't mean to fall, I swear-"

  
"Oh Zerah... It's okay, don't worry. We're not mad at you. We were all worried you hurt yourself. Now, let's get that eye fixed, okay?"

  
As his mother was carrying the young one away, the eldest children and their father stood at the nearby windows, as if looking for something to reach inside and snatch them up. To tear them to pieces limb from limb. Or maybe even to devour them; put them in a pot of soup to let others eat from.

  
In this hellish world, anything was possible when the smell of blood was around; especially with Terror Beasts roaming the terrain around the hidden house.

~ * ~

 

"For the last time: _No_ , you cannot have our children. Get out of here before I send the hounds after you," footsteps soon stormed into the house then, the door slamming shut as a sign of the father's anger with the unwelcome visitor.

  
While the other siblings were still sleeping, this was enough to wake up Zerah from a near dead sleep. Sitting up, the black haired teen looked at his father, seeing that not only was he mad, but also worried.

  
Sliding out of the bed, the fifteen year old rubbed a tired eye as he stumbled towards his father. "Dad? Was that man back again?" He asked softly to not wake the others, soon getting a nod from the older male.

  
"Yeah. It was him again. Blasted incubus, thinking he can order us around just because we're stuck in this damned place!" A fist hit the table the two stood next to, nearly breaking the wooden object.

  
Zerah stared quietly at his father's hand. It was calloused from having to work harder this year to make plants grow where they lived. Every year, it seemed to get more difficult than the last to survive. Water grew scarcer. Fruits and other plants grew harder to grow and produce things other than just stems and leaves. The family was dying slowly. It was more evident in the parents than any of the children; simply because they were giving all of their daily meals to the young ones, in an attempt to keep the family strong and able to hunt. But there was no more game around this part of Limbo. And while they should move to a new, greener area, there was no way that was possible.

More Terror Beasts seemed to be in this area. Trying to escape unharmed and unseen was nearly impossible. Even for the Alden's, who all of Limbo knew were prideful in their skills to outrun nearly anything, with so many creatures around, they couldn't get through unscathed. So they had to wait, and figure out a plan.

  
"Can't we just kill him like we've done to the other demons that come around to take our food?" This seemed like an easy fix. But in reality, it wasn't. While Zerah may not know who the visitor was, his parents seemed to know well enough.

  
If it was a normal demon, they'd have slaughtered him in no time. But this was one of the Fallen Ones- So they've been rumored to be called. And the one that just so happened to constantly be visiting them, was Asmodeus, the Lustful One. Back in this time, there was no such thing as the Seven Deadly Sins. Not all of them were created yet, after all. Or if they had, Limbodians didn't know of it. They knew nothing of the outside world.

  
But back to the topic if Asmodeus. The parents had never told their children why the visitor kept coming back, and they never spoke of what he asked of them. To sacrifice their children to him, just to be free of burdens until they were eventually killed. To let that man do and treat the eight kids as he wanted. They would have none of it. So every day, every time he would come back once every two weeks, they would turn him down. And he always said the same thing. _Always_.

  
_"You'll change your mind some day."_

  
But why would he say something like that? And why so repetitively? Thinking back on it, it all made sense now why he always said that. But why spoil the fun of a story?

"Dad?"

  
Coming out of his thoughts, the father looked at his son, only to find his eyes being drawn towards that scar. If you didn't know where to look for it, you would perhaps never see it. Despite that, it seemed to have healed rather nicely. It wasn't an eyesore like the boy had worried about five years ago when he first got it. Now, he seemed to have forgotten about it. Which was for the best, really.

  
"I'm fine, Zerah. I just- Blast it, I just want him to stop coming around here like a damned wolf!" Sighing, he rubbed his head. The brown hair that used to be on top of that body seemed to be slowly withering away. Age was really taking a number on the old guy. Stress must have had something else to do with it though. "Um, how about you go hunting for food today, Zerah? You don't need to be cooped up in the house today."

  
He didn't have to be told twice. The teen was already grabbing his knives- sharpened to the point where they could nearly slice clean through bone -and heading out the door. Ever since he lost contact with Akexej because of his best friend moving a couple years back, the black haired male never seemed to have anyone to talk to but his family and the animals. Which came as a surprise to everyone when they found out. How he was able to do this, not even he knew. One day, it just happened. But it wasn't like he was complaining, he had people to talk to now, even if they were animals.

Once outside, the birds seemed to greet him, and even the skittish squirrels did the same. It was as if nature loved him; and he reciprocated those feelings. The feel of grass between his bare toes, the dirt staining his hands and legs whenever he smashed a puddle, the way the tree branches held him up steady so he could rest a while on them- He enjoyed every bit of it.

  
Though there was something odd about the animals today. Every time he tried to go back home after getting a rabbit for the family, another would appear, just a ways away so he'd have to follow the animal some distance before he could catch it. And then another would appear. It was as if they were leading him away from the house. But Zerah, of course, didn't notice this; and assumed it was just luck on his side today.

  
After what felt like hours of being out in the woods hunting, Zerah was beginning to make his way back to the house when he stopped in one of the nearby, quaint villages. While Terror Beasts- creatures created by Azazel to suede her rage of being force to live here, some said -constantly roamed the areas around this land, most places like this had just enough magic that they were able to be undetected when one was around. It may have been a cheap tactic, but it worked rather well to keep places like this alive.

  
Walking around the dirt road of the village around him, it was only moments later that Zerah found the fruit stand that he was looking for. "Ah! Can I have some fruits today, miss? I brought several rabbits so I can trade with you. I'm sure Mom and Dad would love some apples, and Mare will love watermelon, Gina and Claudus should love pineapples, Amalthea will want bananas, and my three other brothers will probably enjoy cantaloupe!"

Unbeknownst to Zerah, the people from the stand were wincing at every name spoken. It wasn't until he had started to talk about what he wanted that he noticed something was amiss.

  
"Um, excuse me? Is there something wrong-? You keep making faces every time I talk about my family..."

  
Judging from how the couple in front of him were acting, something had happened. The two were trying to say something to him, but all that came out was wisps of air. How were they supposed to tell this boy, who's family meant everything to him, what just transpired? Stepping away from the stand, Zerah looked to others in the village in hopes that someone could help him. But it seemed like everyone else had that look in their eyes. That look of fear, of regret. Just _what_ had happened? Thoroughly confused, Zerah was about ready to bolt when someone finally ripped the words out of everyone's stuttering mouths:

  
"A... A Terror Beast came by l-looking for you Aldens. We tried to stall it-! Really! But when it began slaughtering our livestock and kin, what were we supposed to do? It- It should be at your home by now-"

  
But Zerah was already gone. He was tearing through the forest as fast as his enhanced speed could take him. To each Alden, family meant everything. If one was hurting, they all hurt. And if one was hungry, they shared as much as they could spare. And if they were being attacked...?

  
Well, shouldn't _all_ of the Alden children be there?

By now, Zerah was close to the house. His feet would have carried him straight into the monsters line of sight if those golden eyes had never seen the beast first. Reaching a hand upwards, he grabbed hold of a branch, swinging himself up into the leaves just as the beast turned to look in his direction. For being on two legs, it was a rather disgusting sight. It didn't help it looked an ominous black color, as most of that damnable creatures did. A pair of arms were connected to its body, but instead of hands, there appeared to be scythes, razor sharp, no doubt. At least there didn't appear to be any blood on it just yet.

  
Sniffing the air, the wind revealed that there was no bloodshed for now. So he had made it in time. But where was his family? Inside the house? From this distance, it was hard to tell where they were. If only his eyesight was better, he could have seen them. Wherever they were.

  
When the Terror Beast began moving its rather large body around, Zerah's ears finally picked up the sounds of his family whispering. Though he couldn't understand what was being said, it gave him just enough relief that his family was okay, that he didn't just give up on finding them right then and there. Looking around for where they could be, Zerah discovered Mare and Drustanus holding onto the back of the Terror Beast as if they were mice. How the creature didn't know that they were there surprised even Zerah. But he remained in that tree branch.

  
If he had learned anything from hunting with his siblings, it was that when a pattern was in motion like now, rushing in as an unannounced thing would only ruin things- And possibly cause the death of the two on that creature. So he waited for the right time to strike, slowly pulling out one of his knives as he watched the duo that he could see.

A look passed between the two that rode the beasts back, and a moment later, Mare pulled out one of her arrows to thrust into its shoulder. A sound unlike any animal Zerah had heard came tearing out of the monster, the vibrations and pitch just enough to make his sharp senses ring in pain. Grasping at one ear to try and block out the sound the best he was able, it seemed like Drustanus- who had been about to swing his large axe into the beast's neck -was doing the same. Both Mare and Zerah saw this as a bad sign, but before either one could come to their brothers aid, a splatter of blood sprayed out from where Dru was standing.

  
A yell of concern was the first response from Mare even when the male fell back, digging his nails into what appeared to be a lump where his other arm had been. Wincing from his hiding spot, he bit his own lip lightly, hoping that this wouldn't be the death of his brother.

  
Why did the Terror Beast have to show up _now_? After all this time, when they had worked so hard in hiding from them; why did it have to result in this? Who's fault was it? Every one of them had always been careful to stay in the trees when they thought one of those creatures was around. Did someone from the village snitch? There were too many questions circulating his head. Far too many. And there seemed to be no answers either.

  
Just like before, there was a human-like yell that caught Zerah's attention. Looking around the best he could from his vantage point, the male saw that while he had been lost in concentration, the beast had successfully pinned down both Mare and Drustanus- Who looked paler than normal. He was bleeding out. He could die within half an hour if he didn't get help. But with that Terror Beast around, he wasn't able to do a thing. But then, if he didn't _try_ to do anything, his siblings would be slaughtered right in front of him.

Gritting his teeth, the demon came to the conclusion that he had to help them, however he was able. Casting his eyes around himself to scout the land around him, it wasn't long before he saw a tree that would be a good place to begin his forming plan. With the help of his nearly quiet body, Zerah dropped down to the earth, quickly rushing towards the trunk of the tree he had spotted from the branches of another.

  
As soon as he made it to where he needed to be, one of the knives he always carried with him came out from the shoe it had been nestled in. Now, at this point in his life, Zerah wasn't the best knife thrower. He usually missed the mark by a couple centimeters. And in Limbo, missing by that much would only damage the situation and cause deaths- Or make it worse. And this was one of those times that he _desperately_ hoped that he was going to hit right where he wanted.

  
Hoping beyond hope that this wouldn't be the case, the arm holding that deadly weapon stretched up and over his head, the muscles in that limb beginning to tighten in concentration and preparation for what was about to come. The wait for the right moment to strike took forever. The Terror Beast didn't seem to have any holes in its defenses at first, and it didn't help that Mare and Drustanus were dancing around it like moths to flames. But then-

  
"Stop. That won't accomplish anything."

  
The voice of his father caused the male to pause, and do a double take around himself. When had his parents gotten here? And how had they managed to get near him without him hearing? That was the biggest mystery for the male at the moment, and it was evident in his eyes when he found his mother was staring back at him, bloodstains splattered against her legs.

"Honey, you won't be able to strike that thing from so far away. You have a good aim... but I'm not sure it's good enough to do anything."

  
At first, a stunned expression appeared on Zerah's face. Why would his parents say that to him? Didn't they want to save the others? Because it was obvious they were going to die if no one helped them. Seeing their children getting hurt... It must have been awful for the two. So _why_ was nothing being done about it?

  
"Zerah," the tone of voice his father used seemed to bring the teen out of his reverie as he looked to his father, "I know you want to help your siblings. But you have to understand that you'll just get in the way. You're not properly trained for this."

  
Though this only seemed to infuriate the boy. On top of having his marksmanship criticized, now he was being told he was incapable of doing anything remotely close to help? His teeth clenching together, Zerah's hand that held his knife began to lower. Living with him for so long, his parents were able to tell easily when their son was seething in anger. His mother was the one to begin walking towards her child.

  
"You believe in your brothers and sisters, right sweetie?" A slow nod was her answer before she pressed onward, "then you have to believe that they'll be able to handle themselves. It would wound their pride to have their little brother coming to save them."

  
What she said made sense- Even Zerah had to grudgingly admit to that. When it was apparent that their son had finally given in to what they wanted, the two seemed to visibly relax. At least, they all did. Until they realized the sounds of fighting had stopped.

The youngest one was the first to turn around, but he never completely managed it.

  
As if to make its presence known, the Terror Beast that had been fighting with Mare and Drustanus lunged out with sharp teeth Zerah hadn't seen from this far away from it. With the beast filling his entire area of sight, the male didn't know what to do except for stagger backwards. But it was in that moment that it dawned on him that he was unable to move. Then his ears caught the sound of his mother screaming his name as blood punctured his nose.

  
_...Blood?_

  
Reality seemed to snap back together in that instant, and it took a moment for the boy to taste that copper-like substance in his mouth. When he did finally taste the blood, Zerah had to look down to find the reason for this. And it seemed to paralyze him when it was discovered that the Terror Beast had bit into his body; puncturing what felt and looked to be his upper stomach, the beast was growling as its black, bottomless eyes glared at the male. Like it was _angry_ he was still alive.

  
His mother and father could be seen just outside of his peripheral, struggling to tear the creature off of Zerah. To break those fangs. To pull him out of those jaws. To do _something_ to save their child. Yet no matter what they did, it didn't seem like the beast was going to let go any time soon.

Dizzy and confused, the teenager only laid in the Terror Beast's jaws as he seemed to slip in and out of consciousness. Hearing the cries of his mother kept him from fading away completely- He had realized that years later -and when he heard her screaming to let go of her boy, Zerah realized that he still held the knife in his hand. Even though it wouldn't be long before he dropped it, due to him being bitten by that monster. Still... he couldn't stand to hear his mother wailing like that, believing he was going to die.

  
For just a moment, strength seemed to return to the Limbodian momentarily. And with his fingers gripping the hilt of his blade tightly, Zerah lunged up with that weapon and rammed it into the Terror Beasts' eye. Instead of his mothers voice screaming now, all that could be heard was the creatures reverberating screeches of pain. It was enough to release Zerah though; he landed on the earthy ground with a thud as his parents rushed over to help him stand.

  
The image of his father chasing after the retreating beast came into his field of view for just a moment before it was filled with his mother and Amalthea. Words were being spoken to him but it was clear that he didn't understand a single thing that was being said. It was obvious to the two and as they struggled to keep him awake, Zerah drifted off into sleep. Which he would have been unhappy about if he realized it at the time.

~ * ~

It was later that night that Zerah finally woke up. His body, after trying to move it around, proved that it was impossible because of whatever was holding him down. And holding him together.

  
His eyebrows furrowing in a puzzled manner, the male glanced around to see if he could recognize where he was. Though his mind was still catching up with what had previously happened, a soft patter of feet caught his attention.

  
"Zerah...! You're awake!" That was the voice of Mare.

  
And the body that wrapped itself around him was also Mare. Golden eyes blinked and stared at his sister in confusion still, unable to register that he should hug her back. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Why wasn't he? That Terror Beast had sunk its fangs deep into his stomach, didn't it?

  
A giggle came from his sister- not Mare, of course. It sounded more like Amalthea. To show that it was true, the little girl's head popped up at the side of the bed Mare wasn't on, a bright smile on her lips.

  
"You survived! Daddy was worried you wouldn't live after what happened," Amal explained, that smile never leaving her lips as she grasped at her brothers clammy colored hand, "but it looks like he was wrong! You'll be okay now."

  
He would be okay? But... Why did he still feel like it wouldn't be okay? That the world, as he knew it, was no longer the same that he remembered it. Why did he _feel_ like that? It made no sense. Aside from the questions that rampaged in his mind, Zerah seemed to relax in the bed that he was laying in. The two siblings that were talking to each other and to him seemed to continue on even if he didn't keep up with the conversation, but that didn't bother the male at all.

It wasn't long before his other siblings came into the room to see what was going on, and the teenager could tell that he had surprised all of them at this point. By now, Zerah was certain that he _should_ have died, or be closer to death than he is right now. Yet he still felt like something was off. Pushing it to the side for now, the second youngest was just happy to have his brothers and sisters around him.

  
That is, until Akexej burst into the room. It was so sudden, and something that was unnatural. For one, his friend wasn't even close by where they lived anymore. For the second thing, the last time he saw his companion, he didn't look so... old? This Akexej seemed to be older, more so than the age he should be right now. Just realizing that the room had gone quiet, Zerah looked to his siblings to find all fourteen eyes glaring at Akexej, who appeared to be out of breath. Had he run all the way here?

  
"Ze... Zerah," the voice of his friend even sounded different. But it was a good different, as those eyes fixated themselves on the golden colored ones of the demon that lay in bed, "what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with your family?"

  
Now the feeling that something was wrong seemed to deepen. What was that supposed to mean? Besides his mother and father, he was _with_ his family. Yet, as he thought about it, wouldn't his parents be here worrying about him as well? It had been a serious injury after all. As if his siblings knew what he was thinking, a couple of the girls looked at Zerah, while the others began trying to force Akexej out of the room.

This, as one can imagine, didn't seem to go well for the white haired male. He was struggling to stay in the room while screaming at Zerah to wake up. But why would he need to wake up? He was already awake, right? Although... Akexej couldn't have made it here in a day from wherever he was living- It just wasn't possible.

  
"Hey, Zerah! Don't believe him, okay? He left you all alone, with no one to talk to, remember?" That was Amalthea again. Or, was it Mare? He couldn't tell anymore. Nevertheless, she was right. He did leave him. It wasn't like he had a choice though. Suddenly a thought struck him. And it was an absurd thing to wonder at the given moment- what with his friend being forced out of the house and his siblings trying to keep his attention on them. Still, he felt compelled to ask this to them.

  
"Drustanus?" This was the first time he had spoken since waking up. How odd his voice sounded at the time. A gentle noise told him that his brother was listening as his eyes looked towards Dru. "Why is your arm fixed? I saw it get sliced off by that monster."

  
A chill ran through the room at that question. Even Zerah could feel it. Sibling glanced to sibling in surprise, though Zerah didn't understand why. It was just a question. One that held an answer it didn't seem like anyone was willing to give. But he didn't need an answer. Now that his brain was caught up with the situation, several things weren't making sense right now. Like how his parents weren't here. Or that no one was keeping watch for that Terror Beast to come back. Or how cold it was, even though a fire was in the room.

  
Looking to the fire place, Zerah paused. There was definitely no reason to have the fire in a cage, right?

 

"Guess seeing Akexej made you snap out of it, huh?" Ferox asked, his hands moving to rest on his own waist. Even with the chill in the room growing, it didn't appear to be threatening. Rather, it was just... sad. There was a sadness now that wasn't there before. Was it because Zerah figured out that this scenario was wrong?

  
"See, we're in your head right now, brother," Claudus said, moving to sit beside his younger brothers head so he could tap on that forehead, "it's what happens when you're bit by a Terror Beast. The victim usually passes without being in pain. But because of your mind bringing him into this room, you broke the dream."

  
Still confused, Zerah could only stare at his siblings before he began sitting up. That was when the boy flinched at the pain growing in his stomach. Was that something warm trickling down his skin? The eight family members all remained quiet as Zerah pulled the sheets off of himself to find that the bite brought on by the Terror Beast was still there. And still sending waves of pain through his body. Now this felt real, unlike being with his siblings right now.

  
"Where are Mom and Dad?" He quietly asked, soon glancing up to his siblings. Only to find that they were gone; and with them, the familiar room. Now, he was left to stare at a stone wall with bars blocking the only way out of what looked to be a cell.

  
Letting his gaze wander for a moment, Zerah flinched when he felt his stomach throbbing from the pain brought on from the bite. Well, if they really _were_ hallucinations- which he concluded his siblings to be -then where was he? And where was his family?

Zerah's eyes moved to and fro along the walls for a moment as he tried to figure out how to get out of this place. Not finding anything that he could use as a way to escape, the male raised a hand to press against the wall behind himself. At least in reality, he was able to move around like he wanted. With his stomach no longer bleeding, it was a no brainer that Zerah had to take it easy, lest his wounds open once again. Though that rose yet another question: Who fixed him up?

  
Without treatment, even he knew that he would have died within minutes from that bite. The only person who he could think of being able to heal someone was his mother. And the longer he thought about it, the more likely it was that it was his mom. Icarus and Gina took after her in the healing aspect, but with how grave the wound was, his mom had to be the only one that did it.

  
He wished she hadn't though. Healing magic- or any magic, for that matter -normally sapped a Limbo demons' strength faster than any demon residing in Hell. To heal a wound like that... well, he just hoped she was still able to walk easily.

  
Staggering onto his feet, Zerah shuddered and gasped from the pain produced from that action. He wasn't going to give in to the pain; what demon would he be if he let that happen? The ache in his body seemed to agree with him, albeit it was still throbbing. But it didn't seem as powerful as it had been previously. That could be because his focus was on something else, although the thought was still there. Now being stable on his feet, the male made his way to the bars that seemed to be trapping him in the stone cell he was in.

  
Which was odd. Why was he stuck here? And where was his family? That was the most troubling thing for Zerah.

Soon, a hand reached out to touch the iron bars in an attempt to see if they were easy to break through. And perhaps with a couple well placed kicks, it could come crashing down. Or, if he found the keyhole to the confinement, he could try and pick the lock like his father once taught him to do. That idea was banished from his mind though. There wasn't anything that could be used as a tool to pick a lock.

  
Sighing, Zerah gently placed his head against the cool steel of the bars, soon sliding back down onto his knees. The strain of having to stay standing with bite marks that were beginning to stretch and open from him moving around was obvious from the rising and falling of the male's chest.

  
Gods, it was beginning to hurt once more. Now wasn't the time to begin letting the pain get to him, he concluded. So with a groan, Zerah lifted himself once more and began searching for something he could use to get himself out of here. It was perhaps minutes later that the demon's fingers grazed over what felt to be something sharp and small. With a glance down to see what the digits had found, the male could be seen- if there even _was_ anyone around at the given time -that he had discovered a bone.

  
A demon bone, to be more precise. It was to be expected if there were Terror Beasts all around; but as far as this teenager knew, they weren't in sight. Or hearing. So maybe some beast was fed a demon's leftover body instead? It had happened before. One of the neighbors the family used to live beside had a hell hound that had that problem. Thinking back on it, after it tried to bite the Alden kids a few times, the hound was never around.

Choosing to not ponder the matter for much longer- mainly because he had other things to focus on at the moment -Zerah picked up the bone to inspect it closer. It seemed it would be able to fit in the keyhole, but would it stay intact and not break? That was the question that was posed to the male.

  
"Well, it's better to try than to never try..." he muttered, and with that he began working that bone into the keyhole.

  
If he had to do this nowadays, when he's older, this would be no problem. It would be like magic. The lock would come undone with barely a conscious effort. But as he was now, Zerah couldn't do that. Curses were slipping from the demons' lips every time he messed up, which was several times. Even with that problem, Zerah finally managed to get the bone in correctly, and a _ping!_ noise filled his ears to tell him that he had unlocked the object keeping him inside of this cage.

  
Mentally cheering for himself, the lock fell to the dirt ground with a heavy thud as the bars swung open for Zerah to make his escape. Ears perked to catch the sound of anyone that could be coming because of all the ruckus that the demon was making, the male slipped out of the cell and gave a few quick glances around himself.

  
There didn't seem to be anyone in sight, that was a relief.

  
Now continuing to trek through what looked to be a long forgotten- not to mention worn-down -dungeon, Zerah listened as much as his strained ears could. Yet no sound that would say demons were around, came to greet his ears. That was peculiar. And when things like that happened, it made any demon worry.

Suddenly a scream pierced the air. A scream that _definitely_ sounded like someone was in pain. Or that scream was because of someone witnessing another getting hurt. Either way, it spurred the male onward. Despite the injuries his body had sustained, Zerah was practically running down the pathway in search of whoever was making such pained noises.

  
Maybe it was someone from his family? Gods, he hoped not. In this state, it was likely that he would only hinder his family if that were the case. Now nearing the area where the source was, the demon rounded a final corner that placed him outside in the cold of the night. But a large bonfire helped his eyes adjust to the dark. Though he wished they hadn't. He wished that he hadn't left that cell, and that he hadn't woken up.

  
Fuck, he wished for _anything_ else to have happened than what he witnessed in front of him.

  
Flames were licking at the skin of a burning body- maybe a corpse? What made the moment the absolute worst for this teenager was that he knew who was up there, being burned possibly _alive_. The burning taste of the fire was filling his nose, yet despite that, he knew who it was. Who was screaming so desperately to have that girl released from the false pyre.

  
"Ah... Amalthea..." The name slipped nearly silently out of Zerah's lips, but he knew he had said it. That he had said his youngest sisters name.

  
The smell of the child's burning body seemed to cut through whatever else he could pick up as those golden eyes turned their focus onto his mother; the one that was screaming and begging for the girl to be released. Around her were bloodied and burned corpses- eight, to be exact. The same amount as his family. Unlike them though, these bodies had been mutilated and burned beyond recognition.

Yet still, he couldn't believe it. Was this his family? Had he somehow been trapped in another nightmare? No, the pain from his body was enough to tell him that that wasn't true. So was this... Reality? Zerah couldn't accept that, and yet. Yet his family was being killed right in front of him.

  
Standing so still he was practically a statue, the male was stuck in a daze as he watched Amalthea burning. Her hair was gone and her clothes were a close second. She looked so limp, it couldn't be that she was alive. But every now and then, he swore he could see her shoulders trembling from tears that he couldn't see.

  
Knowing that he would regret this, Zerah felt his feet beginning to move around the pyre. To see her face. That was when his mother noticed him. He could hear her voice speaking to him, asking what happened to him. Did he look like a mess? Or was there blood coming from his wounds? His body and mind were numb, he couldn't tell what was going on inside of him.

  
It wasn't until he felt his mother gripping his shoulders that he woke up. "Zerah! You're alive...! Where have you been this whole time? No- Help me get Amalthea down first-"  
His mother was speaking too fast, the worry for her last two children being revealed in her actions and words. The confusion was obvious in Zerah's eyes as his mom began tugging on his sleeves. The distress continued to torment his mother even after she realized that her son was in shock.

  
"Zerah _please_ , you have to help me! Amalthea- My baby girl. She's _dying_!"

Tearing herself away from her boy, it was all Zerah could do to watch his mother rushing into the pyre to try and save what little life of his sister that she could. It was then, in the corner of his right eye, that he saw something flitting in and out of his periphery. Even if the Limbo demon was feeling as dull as a butter knife, he would have had to been dumb to not understand what was coming for his mother.

  
Words of warning bubbled up into his throat. They were going to come to the world, to tell his mother that a Terror Beast was coming for her. To kill her. But for some reason- be it because of his stillness or lack of response -his lungs refused to cooperate. Nothing was coming out. Not even the tiniest of squeaks.

  
So when the creature made itself known by practically body slamming itself into the pyre, Zerah could only watch as his mother staggered back out of fright. And as the beast roared defiantly at the duo, the teenager finally seemed to snap out of what he was going through internally. Even if just for a moment.

  
"Mother! Get back-!" Beginning to advance towards the parental body, it seemed that he was too late.

  
Roaring once again, the Terror Beast wrapped a spiked tail around the stick that had Amalthea tied to it. Though by now, it seemed that she had passed out due to the heat of the flames. Or rather, she was dead. This close to her now, it was apparent that she hadn't been living for a while now. The flames were merely feasting on the corpse of a sister that Zerah had loved. The only person he had left was his mother.

  
But as he looked towards the female, a scream surged forth from him. It didn't seem like it registered that that was what had come out of his body at the time. But it was clear to him later on that _he_ had been the one yelling.

Feet moved to rush to his mother in an attempt to save her life. Though it was clear moments later that he would never make it. The Terror Beast that was- well, terrorizing them, was now on the attack as it concluded that the demons in front of it weren't going on the offense.

  
And the reason for that yell? It was because that beast had lunged forward and took hold of Zerah's mother, its two claws grabbing and latching onto different parts of her body. And those teeth? They had found their way into that smooth flesh, with hardly any resistance. It was worse than when he had been bitten. Blood immediately began rolling down her body; Mother didn't even have a chance to scream at this point.

  
Though Zerah was able to. Actually, he was certain that he was screaming. Now his mother was dying before his eyes, just like his sisters' corpse was being roasted beyond recognition. And who's fault was that? Was it his? Because he got hurt trying to protect his family? Or was it someone else's fault? He would probably never know the answer to any of this. But God, he wished he had the answers. It would make grieving hurt less.

  
Witnessing his mother dying by the Terror Beasts' hands, after all that had been done to and around him, it was the last straw. Something... primal inside of the demon came out in that moment. What it was, no one was certain. There probably wasn't a person alive that could explain what happened to the demon in that moment. All that could be said was that if another lost their entire family, wouldn't they react the same way? Even if they were practically on death's door themselves?

  
"You son of a... of a bitch. Stop that right now! Let go of Mom and just- _Fucking stop it!_ "

A surge of strength that Zerah was unaware of having in the first place built up inside of him. In an instant, the Limbo demon had pulled out the last of his knives- stored between a sock and a shoe -and ran towards the monster. Normally, it was impossible to kill a Terror Beast, even if there were more Alden's than the family had. Yet for some reason...

  
For some reason, Zerah was able to strike a blow to the creature. It wasn't a fatal wound rather, it was just a flesh injury. Although it was better than what most would be able to do. Even now, with the Terror Beasts' claws and fangs trying to snap and dig at the demon, it seemed like the thing was unable to catch him. The bleeding body of his mother was left forgotten on the ground for the time being. Right now, the demon was focused on exacting revenge on behalf of his family.

  
Speed once unattainable for the Alden was now accessible as he sliced and stabbed at the monster that had destroyed his entire life. It wasn't like the Terror Beast was _letting_ him fight, though. The creature was getting scratches and nips on his arms and sides. Even the smallest of cuts would hinder Zerah in this fight. But he wasn't going to let it stop him. Not until that _monster was dead._

  
Delivering a blow against the head of the beast, there was an earth rumbling shriek of pain from the fiend. Obviously, that had caused much more pain than any of the previous attacks. And Zerah was going to use that to his advantage.

  
A clawed hand swung up to try and catch the demon once more and Zerah was quick to slide out of the way. But a cry of pain from the male said that he didn't get away unscathed. Glancing down to one of his legs, he saw that the Terror Beast had managed to rip his calf deeply. Muscle was hanging off the limb and the bones connecting to his thigh and ankle.

"Fuck," the demon hissed out, now clamoring up the others body to reach that head once again. While it wasn't easy- what with those claws trying to get him with renewed vigor because of the successful attack on the demon -he managed it by wrapping an arm around one of those horns.

  
Now the savage creature was trying its best to shake him free. God knows what would happen if Zerah was thrown off. More than likely, he would be crushed. Blood that he had already lost would soon affect him for the worst. It wouldn't be long before he passed out, and not much longer after that, that he would die.

  
If he was to die though, then that Terror Beast was going down with him.

  
Pressing his body against the back of the beasts' head to avoid another swinging claw, Zerah made sure the grip on his blade was good and tight. Right before he used what remaining strength he had to plunge that knife into its skull. In that moment, the world seemed to move by faster. The blow caused that head to jerk violently to the point Zerah would have been flung off if he hadn't sank his teeth into a part of the body he had already sliced.

  
Instantly a nasty, sour tang met his tongue. It was as if someone had grabbed a sweet blueberry and wrapped it in a bitter leaf before dabbing it in bile. A gagging noise escaped the male, but he held on as tightly as he could. Having hunted for so long and so often for his family, Zerah was able to tell that the Terror Beast was now in its death throws. But he couldn't get excited yet. He had to make sure it was dead.

  
Holding on as hard as he was able, those eyes squeezed themselves shut while hoping that the beast would stop fighting soon. Then he would be able to rest. And then see his family.

As if hearing his wishes, a vibrating thud was heard. And all was silent.

  
Zerah released a breath of air that he didn't realize he was holding at the time, as his grip finally loosened on the hilt of that knife. "Did... Did I do it?"

  
The question was answered rapidly after the demon got to his feet, as painful as that was. A hand rested against his leg to inspect the wound momentarily before he glanced to the Terror Beast. The realization that _he_ defeated the most dangerous thing in all of Limbo finally sank in, and a grin came to his lips.

  
He had done it. He had done something no one could ever do on their own, or with others. He was- He was one of a kind. And he was alone, with no friends and no family.

  
Now that this was recognized, a sorrow unlike any other filled Zerah. No one would believe that he had done this on his own. Not unless there was someone alive that could say that this was real, that this happened. Only his eyes were the ones that witnessed what he had done. That feeling of loneliness... It was horrible to feel like that.

  
It was like someone had just achieved the greatest thing known to man, but because there were no witnesses, no one would believe it ever. Or like someone attacked your pride and butchered you until there was nothing left. Zerah felt like that, and so many more emotions.

  
Tears swelled in his eyes as his legs- weary from having to work so hard with all the injuries his body had acquired -collapsed. The ground came racing towards the demon, but with shaky hands, he managed to catch himself. But the tears that began running down his cheeks and onto the blood stained, ashen ground didn't stop. They wouldn't stop. Not with this pit of emptiness inside him.

What was he to do with his life now? Live all by himself? Would that even be possible? Family had meant everything to him. And now that they were all gone?

  
"I'd rather- I'd rather die than be left alone in this world," the being stuttered out through his tears, shoulders being raked with sobs that no one would hear. No one but himself and dead bodies.

  
Amidst these tears and the wails that came from this teenager- this fifteen year old boy -his golden eyes returned to look at the body of that Terror Beast. What if he took part of it as a trophy? To prove to everyone in the villages nearby that what he had done was real? The thought was completely absurd and yet.

  
Yet he wanted so badly to do it that before he realized what was going on, Zerah was yanking his knife out of the creatures' body and carving out where he assumed its heart was. That liquid continued to seep out of his eyes, but with his new determination, they weren't as shoulder-shuddering as the last. Like before, when he had seen Amalthea burning, he felt numb inside. But could he be blamed? He just went through a tremendous ordeal that he alone would _always_ carry on his shoulders now.

  
Within moments, Zerah's numbness went away because of the item now held in his blackened colored hands- the hue being a courtesy of rummaging around inside of the Terror Beast. Looking to the object in his hands, the boy sniffled as he recognized the organ in his hand was a heart. Because he was holding it so gently, he swore he could feel the thing beating. But something dead couldn't have a beating heart, could it?

  
His eyes never left the blood pumping organ in his hands as he stared down at it. Just like the thought to bring a prize with him to the other clans, a new one cropped up in his mind: What if he _ate it?_

Rumors had been passed around from every demon in Limbo about what would happen if one ate a part of a Terror Beasts' body. Some thought doing so would bring about a new rush of power- One that could rival even Azazel. Or Satan. Others believed it would kill you, damning whoever ate the part to become a newer, stronger Terror Beast with no memories of what happened before. Among other things, these two were the main rumors that everyone spoke about.

  
Everything was happening too fast. What with Zerah killing and slicing open a Terror Beast, his family dying, and now his desire to eat the heart of said creature? It was like someone was playing a sick joke on him. And he hated it.

  
He had nothing left to lose if he died doing this; no friends to talk to anymore- he believed that Akexej had either moved away without telling him, or the Kadash family perished somehow -and most certainly no family. Death sounded just fine really. Although if he didn't hurry and eat the heart, he would die of blood-loss anyway. So all in all, he would die no matter which choice he made.

  
His mind now made up, Zerah took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and bit into that heart. Bile rose to greet him instantaneously. This was worse than tasting its blood. Gagging as he forced himself to chew through the portion he put in his mouth, the demon swallowed and went in for another bite. With each chomp, his stomach tried harder to throw it all back up. But he refused to let that happen.

  
It wasn't until the entire organ was consumed, that Zerah regretted his choice. Instead of gagging or trying to throw up, his body began itching like Hellbee's had made a nest of his body. And were wanting out.

Hissing at the pain, the demon practically slammed himself against the ground as intolerable pain racked his body. It really was like something was wanting out; or even that something was tearing its way inside of him. Starting from the pit in his stomach, whatever it was could be felt ripping apart every organ, every muscle, every emotion. His _everything_ was being destroyed. And all he could do was scream for the pain to stop and curl up against himself.

  
Now he knew for certain that there was something inside him. Something that wasn't there before. Had it come from eating that heart? It was highly probable, as he never felt like this before today. But why did it have to hurt so much? What did he do to deserve this?

  
_Everything. He deserved everything that was coming to him today, and coming to him years from now._

  
The sudden intrusion in his thoughts jerked Zerah momentarily, as he wasn't expecting something like that to happen. Where did that voice come from? It wasn't the one that he listened to all the time when he was thinking. And why did it sound so... hateful towards him?

  
_You wanted this. You got this whether you wanted it or not. A never-ending life of insanity and loneliness. We wonder how long you'll survive._

  
'We'? Who was this we? It wasn't someone Zerah knew. But he didn't have time to really think about any of this. The main reason for that was because the male seemed to pass out due to either the pain or because of all the blood that he had lost finally taking affect on him.

~ * ~

That was the last memory the demon had after he had swallowed the Terror Beasts' heart. He didn't remember anything he did after that. All Zerah knew was that just a few hundred years ago, he remembered waking up in a dense forest with rain pouring on him. Stitches were somehow lodged into his lips- Something that he didn't remember getting right away. But he knew what caused them to appear now. And he wasn't happy about it.

  
It had taken some time for him to get his bearings after he realized that he was in the human realm, somewhere that he wasn't aware even existed. A while after that, he discovered and learned about things that humans did, where they lived, and how they survived.

  
Of course that wasn't the only things he had been learning. He discovered that something was wrong inside him. At first, it wasn't exactly noticed; as he was trying to figure out why he had such a huge gap in his memory. But it was after he had found a home to live in in what the humans called Washington State. The place he found had a mortal in it, and with no remorse, he had slaughtered them with that same knife he had used to kill the Terror Beast.

  
There were no emotions involved in that moment. He had killed an innocent man because he could and wanted to. When he was younger, he would have never done that. This was the way he found out that there were no emotions left inside him. And after that? He discovered through the hard-way that he couldn't die; if he did, he would just come back to life hours later.

Thus began his journey of self-loathing and wishing he could die. It didn't help that the voices in his head were a constant reminder of what he did back then to that Terror Beast. And that his family had died and he couldn't do anything to stop the creature until it was too late. He wished to die so badly because of the voices that never left him alone. And when he'd kill himself, those moments of silence filled him with relief. When he always came back, he wished he could start it all over again.

  
But perhaps one of these days, Zerah would find friends that would make those memories go away. That would make the want to destroy his life and the want to seek out death, to disappear. Maybe he could find them soon? Only time would be able to tell. And Zerah had all the time in the world. After all, he wasn't able to die. He was cursed to live like this because of what he did back then. Perhaps that was why, if you talked to him nowadays, there were bound to be times when one would think that they're speaking to another person all together.

  
Or that he was insane. Which he was. There was no question about that. The demon would fully admit to being insane. There are times that he _has_ admitted to it. But during those instances, it's better that he doesn't talk about them to anyone. Because if he does, you can bet that they're his next victim.

  
Until the male was able to come to terms with the voices in his head and accept who he had now become, nothing would change. And even when he does accept this new way of life, it wasn't like it would come easy. Terror Beasts never did do anything easy.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a bit of a dark one, but I enjoyed writing it nonetheless! Zerah is an OC of mine that I love dearly because of his self-loathing and his rather insane personality. I just hope you lot that read the story enjoy it! I've written one other story about him, but I might not share it for a while. I'm still debating on if I want to, haha.
> 
> And if you find any grammatical errors, you'll have to forgive me. I edited this in the middle of the night and was so tired that I wasn't really looking at every sentence or paragraph.


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